Sweeping changes to farmers market approved

The Temecula City Council approved a sweeping set of changes to the rules and regulations governing the operation of the Old Town farmers market this week to address long-standing criticisms of the market by some Old Town business owners.

"It's all about fairness," Councilman Ron Roberts said at Tuesday night's meeting.

The full slate of new rules, which seek to make the market a venue for farmers and artisans selling hand-crafted items, will be written into a new agreement with the operator of the market that will be presented to the council sometime before the end of March for final approval.

The current agreement with the operator, Gale Cunningham of Farmers' Market Management, expires in April.

By and large, the changes follow the recommendations of the council subcommittee composed of Mayor Mike Naggar and Roberts. The two met with Old Town merchants and Cunningham earlier this month to discuss long-standing issues with the market.

One of the alterations was inspired by Councilman Jeff Comerchero, who said the city needed to refine the definition of hand-crafted items.

Naggar said that example was similar to one that was brought up last week during the subcommittee meeting, when they discussed whether someone who buys pottery in Mexico and then handpaints that item would be considered a hand-crafting artisan under the city's definition.

After some discussion by the council members, the council voted 4-0 to adopt the subcommittee's recommendations with some minor changes suggested by Comerchero: defining hand-crafted as something that is significantly altered from a manufactured item and is 50 percent or more hand-made. Councilman Chuck Washington was absent.

In addition, Comerchero's motion included language that would allow the city to let an associate of an artisan, as opposed to just a family member, sell that artist's hand-crafted items in the market.

Before the council voted, it heard from numerous vendors at the market, which draws thousands of visitors into Old Town each Saturday morning.

The vendors praised Cunningham's stewardship of the market and told the council that imposing too many rules could end up backfiring by hindering her ability to nimbly manage the 80 or so vendors who set up in Old Town's Sixth Street parking lot each week

"I don't think more rules are the answer," said Theresa Bolton, a member of the local slow food organization who has been active at the market.

Councilwoman Maryann Edwards said the council was attempting to forge a compromise that helped both Old Town merchants and the market, which she said was a "fabulous" amenity that draws people to the city.

"We have to balance that," she said.

The new rules will block people who lease space inside a larger store in Old Town from using one of the spots in the market reserved for Old Town merchants.

If those people who lease space create hand-crafted items, they will be allowed to apply for a spot in the market as would any other person.

The new rules will cordon off eight to 10 percent of the stalls in the market for Old Town merchants, and if there are more applicants then spaces they will be rotated through every three months.

In addition, the city now will work with the operator to approve vendors to make sure the items they are selling are hand-crafted.

That change was sparked by the owners of businesses in Old Town who complained that the market was allowing vendors to set up who sold trinkets and other mass-produced items that undercut their sales and turned the market into a "swap meet."

To cover the additional oversight of the market, the council approved a new lease agreement for the parking lot that would boost the cost from $400 to $1,000 a month.

Roberts said it took a while to put together the new regulations, but he said that time was well-spent.

"I think we're really there now," he said. "I think we all are working together now."